


The Other Half

by Merely_Specters



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Alternate Ending, Angst, Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, Canon Divergence - Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Feels, Gen, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-27
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-10-17 11:11:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17559263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merely_Specters/pseuds/Merely_Specters
Summary: A short one-shot about an alternate end to Infinity War.The Avengers are faced with the consequences of their defeat, yet this isn't the future that Dr. Strange saw.





	The Other Half

_Snap._  


Thanos was still in front of Thor when the god began to crumble. As Thanos backed into a portal, Thor felt his legs give way.  


“ **What have you done?!** ” he yelled before he truly felt what was happening. As his arms began dissolving, he looked wildly at Steve. It reached his head, his face disintegrated, and he was gone.  


Steve stepped back. He felt numb.  


He heard Bucky say, “Steve?” and some conscious part of Steve’s mind forced him to turn and look at Bucky.  


“Bucky—” he started before feeling a tingling in his hand. He looked down and saw his fingers were blowing into the wind. He looked back at Bucky. Bucky rushed forwards, but Steve had collapsed. He was a pile of dust.  


Bucky looked up wildly and saw Natasha running towards him. She tripped. When she hit the ground, her body lost all solidity and her remains slid across the grass. Bucky stood still.  


Elsewhere, a cry rang out. “Sam?!” Sam heard Rhodey call out, “Sam—”  


“I’m here!” Sam yelled, getting up. He looked around, but Rhodey was nowhere to be seen.  


Even further into the dense underbrush, T’Challa sought Okoye.  


T’Challa looked around the shrub and saw her. He smiled.  


“Get up,” he said, reaching out his hand. “This is no place to die.” Okoye took his hand. They went to get up, but then the hand T’Challa held disappeared, and Okoye fell, leaving him with a handful of dust. He watched in shock as she disintegrated into ashes, eyes wide.  


He froze.  


Suddenly his head snapped back and he began sprinting, running towards the battlefield.  


“Shuri!” he yelled into the coms.  


“I am here, brother,” she said softly, “but Nakia isn’t.”  


T'Challa breached the edge of the forest and saw his nation die in front of his eyes.  


At that moment, Groot watched Rocket heading towards him.  


“[Dad?]” he asked in a simple "I am Groot?"  


Suddenly, his dad wasn’t walking towards him anymore.

 

“Something is happening,” Mantis whispered.  


“Mr. Stark, I have a really bad feeling about this,” Peter said, feeling sick to his stomach. He felt like the world was wrong, somehow. He turned to Tony. He frowned.  


“Mr. Stark, you don’t look so good.”  


Tony began to respond, but then he coughed. His hand felt numb. “I’ll be alright, kid,” he said.  


He stumbled.  


“Mr. Stark? Are you alright?” Peter began walking toward Tony.  


Tony fell on the ground. He looked at his hand as it blew into the wind, turning to dust. It was happening too fast. It was happening too slowly.  


Peter rushed towards Tony now, catching his falling body in his arms. “Mr. Stark!”  


Stark looked at Peter.  


“I—”  


He was gone. A pile of ashes was all that remained.  


Peter kneeled down, trying to pick up some of the dust, but a gust of wind blew through and it all scattered. It blew from his hands as he scrambled around. He frantically collected a handful of ashes and stood up, turning to look Doctor Strange.  


Peter’s face was as red as his suit, as red as Tony’s blood smeared on the ground beside them until that faded to dust, too. “Doctor Strange, what’s happening?” His voice shook.  


Strange’s face paled. He wasn't looking at Peter, no, he was looking at the remains of Tony Stark. “No, _no_ ,” he whispered.  


Quill reached down and swept up a bit of dust on his fingertips. “Strange, what happened to the Iron Man?”  


Strange cursed, running his hands through his hair. He looked around, searching until his eyes finally landed on Nebula.  


Quill stood up and away from Tony’s remains, disturbed. He looked at the Guardians, and they were fine, but then a hand hit his shoulder and clutched at his jacket. He turned, but it was too late because Nebula was already on the ground. She was gone by the time Quill even registered what happened.  


He spun towards Strange, who had become motionless behind them. He stood like a statue. “What happened?!” Peter yelled.  


Strange looked at Quill with weary eyes. “We are not in the one.” For the first time, Strange looked defeated.  


“What ‘one?’” Quill said, demanding an answer with his eyes.  


“We are not in the one universe where we succeed,” Strange said slowly. His voice shook. “We have lost. Thanos has won.”


End file.
